A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.

Fast Fixes to Jump-Start Your Business Plan

Writing a business plan can be tricky and time-consuming, but it’s a crucial step if you’re starting a new business. Not only is a business plan helpful if you’re looking for investors, but it can also be a great structural resource to help guide you and remind you of your business goals. So how do you create an efficient business plan that meets your needs? Here are five expert tips.

Make sure your business is viable

Before you start writing your business plan, you need to make sure your business idea or product is actually desirable to your intended customer base.

Consider your audience

So what’s the first step in actually writing your business plan? Startup consultant Kristi Klemm said the first thing you should do is ask yourself, “Who am I making this plan for?” There are usually two answers to this question, Klemm said: You’re writing it to fit your own needs, or you’re writing it for investors or partners.

Make it visual

A great way to simplify your business plan, both for yourself and your investors, is to make it more visual. Zack Pennington, chief operating officer at online music instruction resource Collabra Music, said you shouldn’t be afraid to use charts in place of long text paragraphs.

Think about timing

When you’re creating your business plan, you also have to think about the time it will take you to reach your goals. Lora Ivanova, co-founder and chief marketing officer of at-home STD testing company myLAB Box, said that it’s key to ask yourself about your time line or personal runway. For example, “How long can you and the people on your team — co-founders and anyone investing sweat equity — commit yourselves to full-time work or any meaningful capacity dedicated to your business?” Ivanova said.
Once you have that time frame, Ivanova said that the second most important question is, “Is that enough time, conservatively, to get your business to a place where it can sustain your ongoing commitment?” Or, in other words, “At what point in time can your business provide enough income for you to keep working on it? From there, you can figure out what goals you need to achieve and how to achieve them.

Be flexible

Business plans are important, but it’s also important to remember that not everything will go according to plan. That’s why you need to keep your business plan flexible, said Cindy Jones, CEO and formulator at skin-care company Colorado Aromatics Cultivated Skin.